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What the victims say
Monjul Haque (65), from Maltola village in Lohanipara union, was quite vocal about the “injustice of it all” when asked about it. “We are poor people and lead very normal life,” he said. “Sometimes, villagers fight with ech other. However, when we go to the chairman or the members, we hardly get justice. They give judgement according to their will. We are afraid to speak up about it, because we’ve seen what happened to those who talked against them.” Jomar Uddin (60), from Dolapara village of Ramnathpur union, had more to add: “If we seek help from the police, they suggest we go to the UP chairman or members. They don’t want to file our complaints. In the rare cases when they do file our complaints, they do not run investigations.” Intimidation is a huge factor in this scenario. “A village is a small place,
where it is easy for the powerful to find who favours them and who doesn’t. Justice is given based on preference,” a high school teacher from Kalupara union said, requesting anonymity. This reporter met at least 12 men and women who were sentenced with torture in salish by the UP chairman, members or other local leaders. They claimed they were subjected to the torture because they did not work for the leaders during the time of elections. In some cases, criminals are exempted from punishment, while victims suffer even more trauma in the name of judgement. Tuly (not real name), from Masandoba village of Ramnathpur union, was harassed by a man named Nuruzzaman. When she went to the village arbitrators, she was held responsible instead. “Nuruzzaman tried to rape me. But when I demanded for justice, they
called me libertine, ordering me to leave my husband’s house and go to my father’s,” she said.
From the other side
There are 10 UPs under Badarganj upazila. When asked, the chairmen of all the UPs denied the allegation of the violation of the Village Court Act. Wahed Sarker, chairman of Radhanagar union, was surprised when asked about the allegations of human rights violation in the name of arbitration. “My people are happy with my arbitration system. I receive complaints all the time, and I follow the Village Court Act to solve these disputes, I always try to work on these problems in the council office,” he said. However, a few of the leaders do support the cruelty of the arbitration system. They prefer fatwa to deal with the complaints placed by the villagers.
What the human rights watchdogs say
Anamul Haque, senior upazila manager, Legal Aid, Brac, said: “We always work with UP chairmen, members, imams and general village people to make them aware of the Village Court Act and village arbitration system, and also arrange workshops, seminars and training programmes to teach them about the existing law and their rights. “We have worked with people in Badarganj for a long time. What we have observed is that most arbitrators know about the act but tend to bend the law. They have a tendency to turn a simple matter political, knowing who support them and who don’t.” When asked how the situation can be improved, he said: “We think there should be more awareness programmes by NGOs in the rural areas of Bangladesh to make the people learn about their rights to get justice. One thing is very important: the morality of the chairman or the arbitrator in the villages, whom people obey and respect.” Md Nur Khan, director of Ain o Salish Kendra, said: “I think people at first should be more aware of village arbitration or fatwas. Secondly, there has to be strict application of law. And these two things should be run in parallel. Awareness should be ensured in grassroots level, and in this case, the people’s representative should have an active role in raising awareness. The villagers should also ensure that their leaders know about it all.”
According to the police
Zahidul Rahman Chowdhury, the officer in-charge of Badarganj police station, said: “The chairman and the members often try to solve the villagers’ disputes themselves. Villagers also feel free to go to the UP chairman or members, rather than coming to the police. If we receive any complaint against anyone, we always try to take action.” n W E E K E N D TR IBUN E FR I DAY, JAN UARY 1 7, 20 1 4